Match Detail

Salters took on Edinburgh ANSAR looking to keep up the pressure on league leaders Abbey Athletic.

A few changes were made to the starting 11. In came Kris Murdoch at right back, Michael Jones was forced to centre back to cover for the missing Ryan Newton, Shane Thomson came into centre midfield, Blair Mathewson got a start on the right wing and Steven Faughnan replaced Stephen Brown in attack.

Salters started this match very brightly and took control. We created a few half chances before taking an early lead. Blair Mathewson on the right wing cut inside and crossed to Paul Milligan who took one touch to turn the defender and then slide the ball into the far corner of the net from 18 yards. Salters went 2-0 up soon after; good pressure on the opposition by Danny Watson forced the ball to fall kindly to Paul Milligan who took one touch before shooting home from the edge of the box. Having gone 2-0 up quickly Salters then started to take our foot off the pedal. At times it looked sloppy and casual and this let ANSAR back in to the match. The right back was allowed to run at the defence and finished well in the far corner to get his team back in the game. At 2-1 Salters left back Darren Smith went down with a bad knee injury and had to be replaced, it looks very much like the end of Darren’s season. ANSAR got a foot in the game now and although they never really created a scoring chance they had a fair share of the play. Salters did create a couple of decent half chances, however at half time the score was Salters 2-1 ANSAR.

The second half started in much the same way. Both teams trying to play football, although Salters were the ones creating the chances. However Salters were then reduced to 10 men, after a foul by our midfielder correctly lead to a second yellow card. Soon after key Midfielder Danny Watson was forced off with a bad hamstring injury and could miss the rest of the season. Having already made 3 subs Salters were forced to see out the rest of the game with only 9 men. We did however manage to get the killer third goal. Stephen Brown picking up possession on the half way line and sending a high ball over to Paul Milligan who took on touch and then volleyed a shot in the far top corner from 25 yards for his hat trick. The sense of relief was obvious from the Salters players. The rest of the match was fairly even and neither team really looked like getting another goal.

This was a decent game of football for anyone watching. Salters had to dig in deep to get the 3 points and ANSAR gave a very good account of themselves. Silly bookings for talking to the ref and petulance are mounting up and we have to be very careful that they don’t cost us dearly. Injuries to a couple of key players also didn’t help and we wish the guys a speedy recovery.

However it’s great to see the togetherness and commitment of this young team. We stood up to be counted when it was needed, and that was extremely pleasing especially at this time of a long hard season.